Transcript

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>> If you're a smoker in the EU, loyal to your cigarette brand a Marlboro cowboy or a Vogue socialite prepare to have your world turned up side down. Because according to new rules your cigarette pack could be made to look like any other pack from any other brand.

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Same olive color, same format and same huge graphic warnings. I'm Reuter's reporter Dwight here in London, and I'm here with our very own consumer goods correspondent Martinne Geller. Martinne, tell me how did this happen? I mean I'm sure big tobacco did not take this decision lightly.>> No.

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Big tobacco challenged the EU law in Brussels, and the new UK law in London, and lost both challenges. In the UK they argued that the restriction of their logos was tantamount to the seizure of their intellectual property. The UK court said that there was a moral dimension to the law that should be considered, not just monetary.

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Because there is a public health mission to the law trying to curb some of the 6 million deaths a year from smoking. So that should be considered in addition to just the intellectual property.>> What about electronic cigarettes, do they fall into the same regulation?>> So the UK rule today has nothing to do with electronic cigarettes, but under the new EU rules, Advertising will be banned for e-cigarettes, and there's also restrictions, or limitations rather, on the size of the tank and the strength of the nicotine liquid.

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>> The changes also mean smaller packs will no longer be available, nor will menthols, lipstick style cigarettes, or any flavoring or deferential of any sort. The main goal, according to the UK's public health minister is to make Europe smoke free. A landmark judgement representing a crushing defeat for the tobacco industry.

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Which will now have a 12 month grace period to sell existing stocks and find a new way to market their product or get lost in the smoke.